Marriage Complex
by MitsukiJunko
Summary: It was her dream. To get married with the man of her dreams. It came true but... why was it all wrong? Find out why?
1. Marriage Complex

**Hi! I know what you think. I am filled with the on-going fics now and I am only active with two fics weekly (Fantasy Beyond Reality and Mending Tears) and one inactive fic (Cherry Valentines). Now I am starting with a new fic which was requested by Johanna on her birthday. But it's okay, even though I cannot guarantee you my weekly updates of this one. I'll assure you that I'll finish all of my on-going fics. So I hope that you love this pioneer chapter. Happy Birthday Johanna… this fic is for you. I hope you like it. ^_^**

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**Chapter 1: Marriage Complex**

**Chapter Summary: She couldn't believe it. She was marrying him. As in she couldn't believe that she was marrying the man of her dreams… but she was not expecting it this way…**

* * *

"Do you, Ryuzaki Sakuno, take Echizen Ryoma, to be your lawfully wedded husband for better or worse, for health and sickness and 'till death do you part?"

Her eyes widened a bit as she heard what the priest in front of them asked the famous question to her. Everyone was waiting for her answer. If she answered that question positively, she would be together with the guy who was standing beside her. Everything would change after that. Her nineteen years of being single would change in an hour.

The question was… was she ready?

She looked at the man beside her. He was looking at her as well, waiting for her answer. Ryoma looked good at his white tuxedo that paired with her white trahe de boda. She blushed as she looked away and looked back at the priest. Ryoma had the same expression but somehow, it still gave her the same reaction to her face. Not wanting for the priest to wait, she answered him… positively.

"I do." She was thankful that she didn't crack.

The priest had asked her more questions and gave him the same answers. Her mind was elsewhere when she was answering the questions. It wasn't like she didn't want to marry Ryoma. He was her crush, her first love and her savior. It was definitely a dream came true for her, marrying the man of her dreams.

But…

She felt that something was wrong. Something was not right. She was not supposed to marry him today. The last time she remembered, they were just celebrating Ryoma's victory for winning the ATP world tour three weeks ago. They were celebrating at Kawamura's as usual. She was there too courtesy of Tomoka and her grandmother. They enjoyed the night laughing and giggling as they often spent time with the famous tennis prodigy. Ryoma was spending most of his time to different countries and he went to Japan on and off if he had the time, not missing to visit them. That thought brought her back to the past.

* * *

**Flashback:**

"_What's the meaning of this?"_

_She could hear the unbelievable voice of her grandmother. Her head was aching as she reached for it. She sat up as she tried to look around her. Blinking her eyes for several times, she could sense that she was not alone in the room. There were figures around her and her grandmother but she was having a hard time recognizing them. They knew them but their names were raking inside her brain. _

"_W-what's happening?"_ _ She asked instead as she was not aware of her surroundings yet._

"_Ryuzaki-sensei…"_

_She recognized the voice this time and the sound was really close to her. That was the time she recognized the people around her._

_It was the Seigaku regulars and her grandmother._

"_M-minna, W-what's happening? W-why are you…" She was cut when someone stopped her by simply covering the hand of her stopper to her._

"_I'll take responsibility."_

_Her eyes widened as she looked to her side. "R-ryoma… kun…" He was there looking straight at her grandmother's shocked face… no almost unbelievable vision. She realized that she was on the bed… with him… both naked._

_Eh?_

_She observed herself as she blushed really hard. Realizing that she was naked, she secured the cloth that was covering her body. Blush rushed up to her face as she tried to explain, "I-it's not what you think—I—I—don't remember anything. T-this was just a misunderstanding-"_

"_Ochibi, how could you?" Eiji suddenly said cutting her explanation, "Don't you respect our coach?"_

"_I agree with Eiji-senpai," Momo said as well, "We want you to be together but not __**this**__ fast!"_

"_S-senpai-tachi… l-listen to me." She tried to reason out._

"_I said I'll take responsibility." Ryoma said stoically propping his hand to his chin as he was not looking at them, like it was the normal thing to do. He didn't move a muscle the moment they entered the room, he was still sitting beside her._

"_Saa… what done is done. We cannot undo this." Fuji commented._

"_This is trouble. What if Ryuzaki-chan…" The concerning mother hen started his worrying thoughts about them._

_She tried to get their attention, "H-hear me, please."_

"_That's enough, Sakuno." Sumire said who was quiet after the shock._

"_B-but nothings-"_

"_How am I supposed to believe that when I saw you looking like that?" She was starting to get irritated at her. Seeing that it was useless explaining to her, she looked down and gripped her hands hard on the sheet. _

"_There's no other choice," Tezuka looked at them and then looked at Ryoma afterwards, giving him all the stares he could get, "You should take responsibility."_

_Ryoma twitched, "That's what I said."_

_Sumire looked at them for a long time. They were still on the bed, not looking at each other and different shades of red could be seen from them. Well, Ryoma had a little while Sakuno had a lot. Sighing, she finally made a decision, "You two leave me no choice, you have to marry."_

_She looked at her grandmother unbelievably. Not expecting that her grandmother would say that, she couldn't find the words to protest. She was very busy with her thoughts that she didn't see his reaction. Then everything went fast and they started preparing for their wedding._

* * *

And there they were, in front of the priest, exchanging vows with each other. Ryoma didn't say anything and remained quiet these three weeks of preparation. She didn't hear or see any sign of protest or any violent reaction from him. But she was completely aware. They were completely aware.

"And now you may kiss your bride."

The voice of the priest brought her back from the past. She clearly heard what the priest had said just now. She didn't even hear Ryoma said his 'I do's' to the priest or she wasn't even aware at all. Her heart was beating really fast when Ryoma turned her to his side and lifted the veil on her head. She had the chance to stare at her 'husband'. He was really good-looking or proper to say handsome like those fangirls of his often told. His expression was still the same but she knew that he was not regretting everything. And she wanted to believe that.

She blinked her eyes twice when the guy's hand tipped her chin. Closing her eyes tight, she waited for the kiss that he was about to give her. Her heart wouldn't stop from panicking and she hoped that it would end really fast. And then he slowly leaned closer and kissed her.

…On the cheek.

It was fast but she was still shocked. Ryoma kissed her… on the cheek. Somehow, that was not the one she was expecting and mentally felt disappointed about it. Ryoma gave her a tiny smile after that. Staring at him, she smiled as well not missing the blush on her face. Both of them looked at the crowd. They invited their close friends, from the school's close rivals to their relatives. The church was enough to occupy them.

The western wedding of them was simple yet a peaceful one. Sakuno smiled at them, Ryoma did too but only a little. They were married but they could still hear teases from his teammates in the lead of Eiji.

* * *

**At the reception:**

She still couldn't believe that she was married. She was Mrs. Sakuno Echizen starting today. The man of nineteen who was sitting beside her was her husband now. Until that very moment, he was still the stern person she knew but she didn't see any sign of resentment from him.

Was it really okay for him?

What about his career?

What about his fame?

What about his—

**Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!**

She was cut with the sound of high pitch sound of glasses being hit by spoons and fork. Her eyes widened as she looked at the crowd. They were looking at them while they were making sounds with their glasses.

They were asking for it.

To her surprise, Ryoma raised his hand once again to touch her cheek this time. She blushed really hard as she stared at his eyes.

"Don't worry, just leave it to me." He whispered before leaning down to her face.

_E-eh?! _Her eyes widened as he did that. His hand that was covering her cheek was the one blocking the audience view so they would probably thought that they kissed.

But they didn't.

She was shocked because Ryoma was just kissing her at the corner of her lips. Even though it wasn't exactly at her lips, the friction still created an affect to her. His lips were pretty close to hers making her blush really hard. Closing her eyes in the process, she couldn't stop her panicky heart at that moment. She raised her hands to his chest and gripped there.

"That is really long, Echizen!" Momo suddenly shouted making everyone laugh at his comment.

Both of them broke from the 'kiss' and stared at them.

"Urusai, Momo-senpai!" Ryoma retorted but there was a slight hue of red on his cheek. The crowd began to laugh once again.

She blushed really hard and was a bit shocked to see him blush a little. Momo was true anyway. Ryoma didn't let go until Momo cut them. Looking away, she covered her lips due to embarrassment. She didn't know what exactly to feel at that moment.

"Look, Sa-chan is really shy!" Eiji pointed at her making her look at the acrobatic player.

"S-sa-chan?" Blinking her eyes twice as she looked at the crowd where Eiji was staying. The regulars were sitting at one large table while her grandmother was sitting with Ryoma's family. Two tables were sitting close to each other. The thought brought her back. Well, she was not a Ryuzaki anymore.

They reception continued. Congratulating words could be heard from them. Even Tomoka hugged her and was really happy for her. The music started to play and to her surprise, Ryoma invited her to the dance floor. Another whispers and teases could be heard as they went in the middle. They started to dance. She wasn't sure if Ryoma could dance as they were slowly rocking their bodies there. His one arm was wrapping to her waist while the other was with hers. Her other hand was on his shoulder. She couldn't look straight at his eyes, so she ended up looking at his chest. She was blushing really hard.

"You don't have to be so tense around me."

She looked up to see amber eyes staring straight at her. They were still the same.

"Just relax." He added gripping his hold to her waist.

She secretly yelped when he did that. Nodding, she gave him a tiny smile as they continued to smile. Later on, people came to them one by one as they pinned some money to their wedding attire. Some were yen and some were dollars.

Sakuno was still shocked about the western traditional wedding custom. Maybe the reason why Ryoma chose this custom was because he was aware of it. She wouldn't mind though… she only wished that everything would be okay between them.

After the dance, there were doves to be freed, then the cutting of large wedding cake and throwing her bouquet to the girls. Throwing of her nice and beautiful bouquet to the girls was a tradition for a wedding that whoever caught it would be the next girl to get married. When she threw it, it was Nanako who caught it. The girl blushed as she caught it but she was happy though. The next event made her blush to the umpteenth time. Ryoma ordered her to sit and told her that he would get the garter from her leg.

"R-ryoma-kun, w-wait!" She tried to stop him when his hands were under her wedding gown already.

"I told you to relax," He smirked this time as he continued lifting his hands to her leg, "This won't take long."

Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes to relax. Her heart was beating really fast. She also gasped when his hands touched her skin of her legs. Gasping, she gripped her hands tight which were on her lap. The crowd whispered as Ryoma was getting the garter inside her. Finally he got it and stood up. She breathed afterwards. Soon after, it was the guys turn to stand in the front. Ryoma turned around and threw the garter at his back. Sakuno was really blushing at that moment especially when the receiver of the garter was…

…Tezuka… who was just sitting not far from them.

The tennis captain just stared at his hand which the garter landed. The others looked at him and gave him a silent reaction but afterwards… teases.

"Way to go, Buchou!" Momo said approaching him, "It's you turn!"

Tezuka twitched when he said that. He looked at the garment once again and a blush was slowly appearing at his face. To his surprise, Nanjiroh suddenly stood in front of him and grinned;

"Well my boy," He started as he grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, "What are you waiting for? Go and put it in Nanako-chan's leg."

"What?" Tezuka's eyes widened, "W-wait!"

Ryoma and Sakuno were standing at the corner when the table was turned to Tezuka and Nanako. The latter was blushing as the former hesitatingly inserted the garter to Nanako. Tezuka was blushing but he tried to hide it. Once he was finished, he bowed to Nanako before walking back to his seat. He continued drinking his wine to calm himself.

The other regulars snickered at Tezuka's action. But they sweat dropped when Tezuka acted being the captain once again as he ordered his teammates to run a hundred laps when they got back to school. They were already in college, same school and same teammates. Only the seniors were graduating next year. After the small scene, the table returned back to the newly wedded couple.

The event continued until night. The ceremony went well as expected of Echizen's wealth. Ryoma had been winning matches from here and there. The latest money that they used for their wedding was the price that he had won from the ATP world tour. That was why they were able to invite their close friends; Fudomine, Rikkaidai, Shitenhouji and even . They even invited Hyotei much for Atobe's bewilderment.

Everyone knew that it was a sudden wedding ceremony but they didn't ask questions any further. They knew what Ryoma had been doing and he knew that what he was doing was right. The people who knew her and Ryoma thought that they were a perfect couple.

She wished that it was true. She truly wished that it was.

* * *

**After the reception:**

They were on their way to their unit after the tiring event. Well, actually, they snuck from the event with the help of Nanjiroh.

_Go and make more babies, okay?_

The thought made her blush even more. How could she forget that? After the reception, there was their honeymoon. She was being told that they would stay at a luxury hotel with him for two weeks. Ryoma suggested that an average hotel was fine for them but Nanjiroh insisted to take her in a grand hotel and so they were on the long ride at Tokyo bay. The ride was really quiet and awkward between them. How come it was hard to talk to him now? It wasn't hard before although, she took enough courage to initiate a conversation with him.

"Are you tired?"

She flinched when he asked that. Turning to her side, she saw Ryoma staring at her. It was very rare of him to initiate a conversation like this one. A blush appeared on her face as she answered, "N-no… I am fine."

"Un."

Silence welcomed them again as the car continued to take them to their destination. Minutes later, they reached the hotel that they were about to stay. They approached the hotel receptionist and made clarifications. When it was all done, they were being guided to the elevator. They both went in alone, since their things were already at their suite; it was no need for the hotel boy to escort them to their room. Once the elevator brought them up to their floor, Ryoma suddenly lifted her up making her gasp in the process. He carried her on their way to their room.

Sakuno panicked as she put her arm to her husband's shoulder and neck, "R-ryoma-kun!"

"We're almost there." He said as he stopped at a certain door. Good thing that it wasn't lock because he wouldn't probably know how to open it if he was holding her like that. His hands were busy from her back and from the back of her knees.

She only blushed as she let him do everything. His scent was really nice as she could smell him. Once the door was opened, she couldn't stop praising the place. The room was beautiful and elegant, the one that couple would give praise to a room. But her ocular search ended really fast when Ryoma went straight to their room and put her down on the bed. Ryoma somehow tripped and he wasn't able to balance himself as he put her down on the bed. He fell on top of her by accident. Both eyes widened and blushed with different shades of red.

"R-ryoma-kun." She was able to say his name. They were close to each other. She bet that he could hear the fast beating of her heart. Ryoma's hand was just a few inches to her face and she could feel that he was clenching the sheet. To her surprise, Ryoma pulled himself away from her;

"Gomen." He looked away, "Do you want to take a bath first?"

She quickly sat up and nodded, "H-hai." She remembered that they were still on their wedding attire except for her veil that he removed at the reception a while ago. It was quite disturbing for her when she moved around so he removed it for her. Her gown was off shoulder but there were straps at both sides and her skirt was really big and wide. She was still wondering, how Ryoma brought her there without hassle. Without waiting for his reply, she quickly went to the bathroom and started taking a bath. There was an evening gown already in the bathroom closet and thought that she could wear that. She looked at her reflection in front of the mirror. _T-this is nice but t-this will be first time he will see me like this. _She thought as another blush appeared to her face. She covered herself with robe as she went out of the bathroom. Ryoma was already on the bed, lying timidly there. His back was facing her so she tried to catch his attention;

"A-aren't you taking a bath as well?"

Upon hearing that, he looked at her making her blush in the process. His shirt was loosened that she could see his chest. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him bare naked but this time it was different. They were husband and wife now.

"Maybe later." He said after that.

She nodded and then sat on the bed. _H-he is not going to do it, right? Even though we are a married couple now? b-but what if—s_he was cut on her thoughts when she felt the bed move. Gripping her hands tight, she waited for the next moment.

"Are you nervous?" He asked her. It was close to her ears but the way he asked it was not frightening. It was more on… calming. Admittedly, she nodded, "It's okay. We are not going to do it if you are not ready."

Her eyes widened as he said that. Ryoma sat beside her but he didn't say anything. Ever since that night, they didn't talk seriously to each other. It was the time that she should tell something to him;

"R-ryoma-kun…" She started gripping her hands on her lap.

"Hmmm."

"N-nothing happened… between us," She finally said it, "Right?"

It took for a minute before he answered;

"…No."

Upon confirming it, she looked at him, "Then… why didn't you say something? W-why didn't you explain it to them?"

"It would be useless to explain that scene besides," He said looking back at her, "You will be affected that most if I don't take responsibility."

"B-but what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I can get by."

"W-what really happened that time? I don't really remember?"

Ryoma closed his eyes as he too tried to remember, "I believe that we were both drunk."

"I—I was not, it's impossible."

"How can you remember if you are drunk?"

"What about you then?"

"I wasn't sure too," He said and then looked down, "I couldn't even remember how we both ended in Kawamura-senpai's room and both… naked."

Blush suddenly appeared at the both of them and they became silent once again.

"What's going to happen to us now?" She absentmindedly asked him. She didn't notice him looking at her.

"Let's try it."

"E-eh?!"

"…This marriage thing."

"W-what about your career, Ryoma-kun? T-this marriage will only hold you down."

"It's not going to be."

"H-how can you be so sure? W-what about your fangirls?"

"The whole world already knows that I am married now."

"Y-you are famous when you are single."

"I will become more famous now that I am married."

"I-is this really okay, for you?" She leaned closer to him this time, "I—I am not asking you to take responsibility. We both know that nothing happened between us. I—I don't want to be a burden to y-" She was cut when her new husband's hand went to her cheek and calmed her;

"Stop worrying. It's too late to go back now."

Her eyes widened as she realized that. He was right. It was too late. They were already married starting today. If she told them her true feelings and explained everything to them, they wouldn't end up like this. Ryoma would be participating in the other tournaments today instead of being with her. She had stolen his freedom. Looking down, she talked, "G-gomenasai."

"Don't be," he lifted her head using the hand on her cheek so that she could look at him, "I did not regret this. You are not that bad either."

"Ryoma-kun…" She said. Ryoma removed his hand from her and went back from lying down;

"You continue your life while I continue mine," He said as he fixed himself, "Since you are going to be with me, try to adjust with my time."

She stared at his back. She knew that he was ready to sleep. Sighing of relief, she knew what he meant at his words. They wanted to act like normal but the different was she would be staying with him for the rest of his life. With that thought, she slowly crawled on her part of the bed and lied down as well. Their backs were facing each other. She thought everything that happened from three weeks ago until that night. Ryoma was aware that nothing happened between them and if he didn't, she would know. She knew herself, she knew her own body and she was pretty certain that nothing happened between them.

But still Ryoma married her. He did this because he wouldn't want to ruin her reputation. He married her for her sake. Well, he gave her his name aside from that; there was nothing that he could lose if he didn't marry her. But Ryoma was really gentle to the people who were gentle to him. He was just returning the favor… and that was all she thought.

Calling it for a night, she closed her eyes and thought that she wished Ryoma had married her that day not because of a reputation…

That he married her because he loved her.

* * *

**Done! How was this pioneer chapter? Their marriage life has started but what will happen next? Find that out in the next chapter.**

**To Miss Johanna: This multi-chaptered fic is for you. I hope you like this story though, the update is not regularly like the others. So… there it is. Happy Birthday again… ^_^**

**See you soon… ^_^**

**Next chapter: Insecurities**


	2. Insecurities

**Hi! I am back with a new chapter. I am sorry for keeping you wait. I hope you like this.**

**johanna - this is still a part of your b-day fic... tee hee hee... and it will until matapos to... Ummm... I think this will only have five chapters... ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.**

**johanna - salamat naman at nagustuhan mu... ito na pala ung next chapter... Enjoy your bday fic...tee hee hee ^_^**

**sweetgirl123 - well, you will know about it now... tee hee hee... thank you for reviewing... This is the new chapter... ^_^  
**

**yana19 - yeah... well what can we say... It's just really him despite the attitude tee hee hee...  
**

**about the kiss... well maybe... no one can read his thoughts yet... even Sakuno... No wonder that Momo teased him after the second 'kiss'**

**Tezuka wasn't even participating about the garter thing but unfortunate of him that it landed on his lap where his hands were residing... Tee hee hee... yeah... he did react there...**

**thank you... and you will know... this is the new chapter... ^_^**

**sandra - the wait is over thank you very much... This is the new chapter... ^_^  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Insecurities**

**Chapter Summary: They spent their lives together on their first month of marriage. But she was having doubts about the things around her… and herself as well. Find that out.**

* * *

_She wanted to sleep more but something was stopping her. It wasn't heavy but it was a bit disturbing. It wasn't hot but it brought warmth to her slender body. She was lying to her sideways but the heavy thing was draping to her left side where she was facing. It covered her slender arm._

_Eh?_

_She tried moving but she couldn't. It was a hand and it was wrapping her from behind. The hand was giving her warmth. It was hugging her real tight. She calmed herself first before she could try moving again and she did. She turned to her other side and hugged the owner of the arm. It responded to her and when she felt that, she slowly opened her eyes to look in front of her._

_And she saw…_

**.**

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"Eh?!"

Her eyes were snapped opened. Blinking twice, she looked at the other side of the bed.

It was empty.

She slowly sat up and remembered what she had dreamt. _W-what was that? Was it real? _She thought as she blushed really hard. _That was a weird dream. I felt like someone was hugging me. Was it… Ryoma…kun. _She flinched when she thought that. Then, she shook her head for denial. _I-it was impossible. R-ryoma-kun would never do that. Impossible. _

Looking down, she remembered the guy who had married her but not with full of love…

…But with full of reputation and obligation.

They were married for almost a month and they still felt like acquaintances. They never adjusted to each other, although Ryoma could be gentle at times. There was a time that he protected her from a reporter who tried to get a scoop from her. He also mentioned in the world that he was already married and he even introduced her to the crowd. Ryoma sensed that it would turn like this but he knew how to deal with them… and to take care of her as well.

But when they were alone, she would cook for him and ate together. He had sometimes asked her to practice with him, and slept under one bed at night. Those were normal routine for her.

Ryoma told her that they should work this marriage out but he wasn't doing anything. Gripping the sheet in front of her, she was having thoughts about their relationship. _I… guess it is really impossible to turn this relationship into love. He… is too obsessed in tennis and he is just forced to marry me. I shouldn't have got my hopes up. _

She liked him ever since the first time they met. She might not have known that at first but she knew that she liked him when he started saving her from trouble years back then. She liked the guy she married that it hurt a lot.

It hurt that knowing the feelings that she had for him wasn't that easily reciprocated. Sighing, she slowly stood up and left their room. She went down and started preparing their breakfast. When she woke up, Ryoma wasn't with her and she knew where he could be.

At this time, he could be practicing on the wall with his hits.

**xxx **

It had been thirty minutes since she finished making their breakfast but Ryoma hadn't returned from his training.

_Call me if you think that I am forgetting the time._

She could still remember his reminder to her but she was still embarrassed to do that. It was actually his first time that he forgot the time. Fetching him to the court was her first time of doing it so she felt nervous.

_G-get a grip, Sakuno. This isn't like the first time you are going to see him on the court. You have been watching him practice like that. _She composed herself as she made her way to her destination. As she reached the place, her heart seemed to stop when she saw him there. He was still practicing as he was sweating a lot. Ryoma was still absorbed in his practice that he didn't notice her presence there. She had the chance to stare at him. His moves, his hits and his actions were like a slow motion to her eyes. And even when he looked at her way, she wasn't aware of it.

"Oi."

She just blushed—no she was blushing the moment she arrived there. He could make her stun like that.

"Sakuno!"

"E-eh?" Blinking twice, she only realized what she was doing and because of that, she started panicking, "I—I—err—t-the breakfast is—ready. S-sorry for—troubling you!" She quickly bowed for several times before turning back on him. She was about to run away from that place when Ryoma grabbed her hand.

"Why are you in a panic?" He asked her still holding her hand.

Sakuno was blushing really hard especially that it was his first time touching her after a month of marriage. She only looked at him and was about to reason out but the moment she saw his face, her thoughts backed out from her head. Her heart was beating really fast as she blushed even more.

…Her feelings.

Her feelings weren't like a crush anymore. It was more than that but she didn't want to get her hopes up and she didn't want to expect more than that just because they were married. Living together did bring a strong effect on her and she was worried about that.

"Are you still tense around me?"

Her thoughts were cut when he asked her. He was still holding her hand at that moment. Not taking his stare anymore, she looked away, "G-gomenasai."

She couldn't look at him for she knew that he was still staring at her.

"I understand."

She took the courage to look at him. His expression was still the same but his stare was giving her another meaning.

"I'll stay at home for a longer period of time," He said letting go of her hand and standing straight in front of her, "You'll get used to me if I do that."

Still looking at him, she flailed her hands in front of him, "I-ie… y-you don't need to. I—I don't want to bother you."

"It's not a bother to me." He said walking ahead of her.

"R-really Ryoma-kun, I don't want to ruin your practice routine." She walked behind him.

"But I don't want you to feel odd when you're around me," He looked at his shoulder aiming for her eyes, "I want you to act like the usual just like before."

She looked down when he said that, "R-right." How she wished that she could still do that but she sensed that it was impossible to happen anymore, now that they were living together.

"Get used being with me," He continued, "Now that we are married."

Her eyes hardened a little as she griped her hands to her front. She also hoped that it was easier done than being said but it wasn't going to be easy as she still didn't know what he truly felt for her.

And living without love was pretty hard in a relationship as she believed it.

* * *

**The next day:**

"So how's the newlywed?"

Sakuno was looking down while Ryoma was looking away. They were at Sumire's residence that moment as the old lady requested them to visit her. She asked Ryoma if they could visit her and her husband didn't mind though.

"Fine."

Sumire went to him and slapped him hard at his back, "You're the man, boy!"

"S-sensei! That hurts!" He retorted. Sakuno was still looking down and couldn't interrupt between them.

"You can call me 'baa-chan', remember? You are married to my granddaughter now." She snickered at him.

"Che."

"O-obaa-chan… please stop it." She tried initiating a conversation but it was her mistake. Sumire went closer to her and whispered something at her. When she understand what she had said to her. Her face turned beet red and she couldn't face the two of them. Sumire ended up laughing.

"What did you say to her?"

Sumire looked at him as she still couldn't face them. She covered her face when she heard what her grandmother told him what she had told her.

"I just asked her how you were at night. Were you aggressive enough to make her that skinny?"

"S-sensei! T-that's not right for you to ask her!" She could hear Ryoma defend. She knew that he was probably blushing right now.

"Now, now Ryoma dear. Don't be shy. You can have her all the way," Sumire said, "Just don't hurt her or I'll never forgive you."

She peeked at them and was surprised to see that Ryoma was staring at her. Her eyes widened especially when he said his next words.

"I'll never do that to her. I promise."

She stared at him as they continued to talk. Of course he would say that. He said that he would take responsibility of her. And since Ryoma was true to his words, he would definitely do that. She looked away when she thought the reason why he was doing it. And she couldn't do anything about it but to accept it.

Sumire asked them to spend the night and had dinner with her which the both of them agreed.

* * *

**Few days later:**

Now that they were married didn't mean that they should stop going to school.

Yep.

They were still going to school. Seigaku was having a hard time as the news between them was a total shock from students. Ryoma's fangirls were upset and disappointed that he was married. Sakuno was worried because she could still feel their death glares that his fangirls were giving her. She couldn't do anything about it. Even before they got married, she could feel their stare. Their stares were telling her one meaning.

They didn't like her.

Her doubts of being with him worsened now that they got married. Ryoma would hate her for being so coward and not standing up for herself but she didn't have the courage to defend what she believed.

She didn't have any concrete evidence for his feelings yet. If Ryoma could at least tell her that he liked her, even just a bit, it would be enough for her to defend everything from them.

But nothing came and it was also her problem of not confronting him all this time. Ryoma had lack of communication not just to her but to other people as well. Hoping that everything would be alright, she let all the stares pass her by and continued with her regular routine.

* * *

**Later on, lunch time:**

She decided to go to the bathroom first before going to see Ryoma at the rooftop. They decided to eat lunch at the rooftop just like before. But today, she gathered enough courage to ask him. She rehearsed her words in one of the cubicles so that she wouldn't mess up later. When she thought she was ready, she took a deep breath before deciding to leave the cubicle.

But only to be stopped when a group of giggling girls entered the room, she couldn't exit that small room especially when they started talking about something that made her eyes wide.

"She's just a social climber, getting Ryoma-sama to marry her." She could hear a girl said.

"Yeah, don't you see his reaction when they go to school together? He's problematic and is deeply in thought. I feel sorry for our Ryoma-sama." The other girl said.

"I wonder what she did to him. Did she flirt with him and set a trap so that he couldn't escape that marriage?"

"It's possible, you know. Ryoma-sama would never marry her if nothing happened. I knew that flirt seduced him and told him to take responsibility."

"I agree. Now his attention is divided into two. If this keeps on going, his tennis skills will get affected."

"Waah, I don't want that to happen. He looks cool when he plays. I want to see him play like that."

"But a hindrance is stopping because of that girl. I really hate her keeping him for herself. How could she be so selfish? How could Ryoma-sama live with her?"

"Ryoma-sama is just such a gentleman. That's why I really love him," a girl sighed, "I wish I was in her place."

"Baka!" The other girl retorted, "Then you will be the one to be receiving rumors and not that klutz girl."

"I don't mind as long as I have him."

"Then, you are no different than that Ryuzaki-girl, a social climber."

"Hey!"

A set of giggles could be heard after that.

"I hope that Ryoma-sama would wake up and saw her real intentions. I'll pray ten times every night so that they would separate."

"I can't believe that you are so mean."

"Just help me girls and we will have our own prince back with us after this."

Another set of wicked laughs and giggles entered the bathroom and then their voices were started to fade and completely disappeared from her hearing sense.

She couldn't believe what she heard a while ago. Biting her lower lip, she had been gripping her hands real tight and she didn't know that they already turned pale white. Something fell on her lap as she didn't know where she was staring.

That was the time she realized that she was crying. What she heard from them was really painful for her. The courage that she gathered a while ago had easily dissolved after that. She was affected with their words. They were true anyway; she had kept Ryoma to herself. Trapped him in a marriage they didn't plan in the first place. Forcing him to live with her and made him give up his freedom to do anything that he liked.

_D-did I steal his freedom? What do I do now? _She thought as she wiped her tears. Marrying a famous person was not that easy and she was aware of that but she never expected that this could be painful.

It was awfully painful to be exact.

Wiping her tears away, she tried to calm herself as she thought of another way on how to approach him. She still needed to give Ryoma his lunch without getting suspicious of her.

* * *

**At the rooftop:**

"S-sorry to keep you waiting." She gave her a tiny smile when she saw him lying down on the cold floor.

"You are awfully late today." He sat up when she walked closer to him.

"S-sorry," She sat up beside him and gave his own bento, "I-I lost my way here."

Ryoma stared at her and she was aware of that. She wished that Ryoma would not ask her anything because she didn't know how to respond to him. She didn't want to burst out everything in front of him. She didn't want him to confront her… at least not now… not that she wasn't ready to face him.

She was still preparing her food when his hand reached her cheek and gestured her to look at him.

"Is there something bothering you?"

Her eyes widened when he said that. She couldn't find her words as she stared at his face. Ryoma was a bit worried at her and she was shocked to see such a reaction from him. He was saying something but she couldn't understand him. _D-don't show me that kind of face. I-it would be hard for me to stay like this. _She thought.

"Sakuno."

"Eh?" She blushed when she felt that his both hands were touching her cheek now. He had been calling her by her first name but she still felt odd about it. She was supposed to be happy about it but why did she think that something was stopping her to be? "I-I am sorry. I—I was spacing out again."

"Tell me what's bothering you." He ordered her.

She looked down as she tried to reason this time, "I-it's still the same. Don't worry about me."

"…"

She took the courage to look and smile at him, "I—I guess I am not still used with their glares and stares, your fangirls I mean." She recklessly laughed after that; blush was faintly painting her face.

Ryoma looked at her but she didn't want to stare at him for long but she was thankful when he removed his hands on her and went back at eating but not until he spoke again;

"No matter what you hear or see, don't believe in them," He said focusing on his own meal, "I want you to believe only in me."

She stared at him when he said that to her. She did want to believe him but something was stopping her. She couldn't feel at ease after what happened. Ryoma cheered her up but it wasn't enough for her. If they were words of courage, she would believe it if they weren't married and probably was happy to hear it from of him. But she was hoping for more.

She wanted him to love her or else this marriage was useless for the both of them.

"Hai." Still she half-heartedly answered him. Even though she couldn't bring herself to absorb his words completely, that didn't mean that she couldn't accept at least a little of it. She would believe in him.

That someday, Ryoma would learn to love her… even just a little.

* * *

**Night:**

"Aren't you going to take a bath?"

Hearing his voice, she quickly looked down. She knew that he was half naked at that moment and he was soaking wet when he exited their bathroom. She quickly stood up and went straight to their bathroom. She leaned on the door frame as she couldn't stop her heart from panicking. They had been living together but Ryoma hadn't touched her yet. Because of that, she thought of two things.

One, he was respecting her. Maybe he could sense that she wasn't ready to work up with their relationship. She thought that he was not forcing himself to do anything to her despite that he had all the right to do those things to her.

Two, he didn't have feelings for her. He only respected her and thought that she could surrender herself to the person that she really loved. She thought that he was only saving their relationship to the person they really love and if their relationship couldn't work, they could just separate without hard feelings.

Out of two things, she wished that it would be the first. She could accept the first. She didn't want to think the option two and if she were to ask, she didn't want to end the relationship they already had.

Why?

She loved him that was why. Now, she realized that. She loved Ryoma after spending time with him. Calming her heart to normal, she walked to the tub and decided to have her bath.

**xxx**

Ryoma was sitting on the bed tossing a tennis ball when she exited the bathroom. Good thing that he was on his pajamas but he still looked gorgeous in his appearance. It was true that she saw him half-naked and was on his pajamas for a while but she couldn't bring herself not to blush at his cute appearance.

"You never changed, don't you know that?"

She blinked her eyes twice, still madly blushing, "W-what do you mean?"

Ryoma looked at her before he closed his eyes, "You blush all the time."

Her already blush face blushed even more, "D-don't bring that up, Mou!" She looked away as she covered her face with her hands.

"Heh," He simply replied, "I told you to get used to me."

She slowly released her hands from her face and looked at him, "H-how?"

He looked at her and stared at her eyes. It was getting awkward as he did that. She mentally panicked when he stood up and walked closer to her. She held her breath when he was just in front of her.

…Only to close her eyes when he pat her head.

"If you still do not think of me as your husband, treat me as your friend." He smiled at her.

A smile that brought her burdened away from her chest.

…A friend.

She thought they were never like that even before they got married but now Ryoma was offering one to her.

"I don't want you to treat me as an acquaintance," He said as he pulled his hand back to his waist, "Treat me with the way that you can feel at ease when you are around me."

His words were surprising for her. She didn't know whether to like or not the way he said his words to her. But she thought that it would be better than to remain awkward and insecure when he was around. Ryoma would get tired of her if she kept on showing doubt while they were living together.

Ryoma sacrificed his own freedom and married her. She would return the favor for him. The rumors and gossips about her might be painful to her ears but she wouldn't care about that. As long as she could serve Ryoma to her content and he was satisfied with her service then she wouldn't mind sacrificing her own time for him.

Just like how he sacrificed his for hers.

With that decision, she looked at him and gave him a genuine smile, her eyes closed as she replied at him, "H-hai… Thank you very much, Ryoma-kun." She didn't see his reaction as her eyes were still closed and still thinking of what to do to please her husband.

And as a wife, she knew that she had a long way to go.

"Well, it's getting late," Ryoma suddenly said opening her eyes in the process. To her surprise, the guy reached for her hand and gestured her to the bed, "Let's go to sleep."

She panicked when he said that. Her vision went to the bed. She couldn't find her words as she let him drag her there. Really, Ryoma had never touched her hand before and it was seldom of him to do this kind of thing. Now, she felt nervous on whatever he was planning to do. She didn't have the chance to reply to his words when Ryoma had pushed her down and placed his upper body on top of her directly facing him.

Her heart was beating really fast as she didn't have a choice but to look at him, "R-ryoma-kun…" She also had the chance to stare at the golden cat-like eyes of his. She thought that she saw something rare in his eyes but she hadn't paid much attention to it as her heart was occupying her full awareness.

"Mataku," He said and sighed afterwards. Sakuno was really shocked when he did that but Ryoma had never left his distance. They were pretty close that made her blush a lot, "You can call me by my name without honorifics."

"E-eh?" Her eyes widened. To her surprise, Ryoma smirked this time before leaning down and kissed her forehead causing her to become totally speechless.

"You're no different to me now." With that, he immediately distanced himself and turned his back on her.

Sakuno stared in wonder after that. But lately, she too turned her back on him. She was really confused on the relationship that they had. She bit her lower lip as she gripped the sheet of the bed.

Just what was their real relationship?

Was she his wife?

What would he want her to do?

Everything was blurry for her.

She couldn't even do things right. And just like she was about to decide at something, he would just intervene and unintentionally ruined it. Didn't she decide to do her best for him? But how was she going to do it if Ryoma did something that would confuse her.

It wasn't like she wished for it but Ryoma hadn't touched her ever since they got married. Although, he said to her one month ago that they should work their marriage but neither of them was doing something for it.

Because of that reason, she felt reluctant about the whole marriage thing. Closing her eyes to rest she thought one before calling it a night.

That somehow, she wished that Ryoma could like her even just a little.

* * *

**Done! How was this chapter? Sakuno had insecurities. What was Ryoma thinking? Not touching her** **after a month of marriage? Had he having insecurities too? The marriage was a mistake in the first place, would they make it right? Find that out in the next chapter.**

**Reviews please… I want to know your thoughts…**

**Next Chapter: Second Thoughts**


	3. Aftermath

**Hi minna-san! I am back. I have a thing to say. I realized that the next chapter title that I gave you last week was a bit redundant so I decided to change it. Sorry about that. But I hope that you like this. Domo.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and will never ever will. (Eh? Redundant?;p) **

* * *

**sandra – wow… really… thank you very much… I am really glad to hear that from you… ^_^**

**Natutuwa ako at naeexcite ka sa mga stories gaya nito… Well, the wait is over… I hope you like this one too… tee hee hee… ^_^**

**Eiko-chi – thank you very much… for loving this chapter… ^_^**

**Well, the wait is over… this is the next chapter… I hope I can update as soon as possible. But for now… I hope that you like this… ^_^**

**Mayu-chan – hi… thank you very much for the review… I am glad that you like Cherry Valentines as well…**

**In this story… I can at least say that Sakuno will stand up for herself and her goal is to make Ryoma love her or simply to discover what he feels about her… A relationship will collapse without a strong foundation to hold on… but the question is… will she make it? Who knows? She also has a goal in the other stories too… and thank you for the suggestions though… **

**Actually, I read that fic before you even suggested it to me and you are right. That was really great. Speaking your mind is the strongest point one can ever have.**

**Thank you once again… This is the next chapter… ^_^**

**johanna – tee hee hee… ito na ung next chapter… I hope di na u mabitin? Anyway… thank you… ^_^**

**yana19 – tee hee hee… I guess Sakuno was disappointed when she realized that it was just a dream. Who wouldn't have if the person you marry wasn't doing anything to you, and you marry him. She's desperate? ;P**

**Well, Ryoma is famous and being near him is close to impossible, at least for a girl. Well, for now, no one knows what Ryoma really thinks. What will his reason be? Ryoma is anyway, a man with few words. Haha, he hasn't speaks his mind yet… ^_^**

**Tee hee hee and yeah, Sumire was really naughty making them blush like that… **

**Those fangirls will never learn and continue hurting the bullies. Sakuno has to do something too and not to defend on Ryoma that much. She also has a part in the marriage life that they are trying to build. We will see…**

**But for now… this is the new chapter… Thank you very much… ^_^**

**Acinej – maraming salamat… salamat din at nagustuhan mu ung tradition na ginamit ko sa kasal nila… tee hee hee… ung reason, malapit na yun… ito na nga pala ung next chapter… salamat uli. ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Aftermath**

**Chapter Summary: She ignored them. She was able to do that no matter how painful their words were. As long as it was them, she could endure it. It was supposed to be like that but…**

* * *

_She didn't stir when she felt a hand gently caressed her face. It felt nice to have experienced that. The hand continued caressing her face… her cheek, her jawbone and neck, her nose and even her lips. The hand stayed at her lips for a long time, savoring the touch it gave her. It tickled her as it gently caressed her lips. She only felt a little disappointed when the touch left her lips. _

…_Only to be shocked._

_The hand was replaced by something softer and warmer. She knew what it was for it was kissing her forehead._

_It was someone's lips._

_Yeah, someone was kissing her but she didn't pry it. She let the person kiss her forehead, her nose and her cheek as she gently experiencing it from the person. She was shocked when the lips landed on her own lips. It was a new feeling for her. It was warm. The kiss was warm as it moved there. And it was her first kiss as well._

_Eh?_

_That was right. Someone was kissing her, stealing her first kiss. She panicked when she realized that. Realizing that, she grabbed the person's arm and was about to push away._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

**Snap!**

Her eyes were abruptly opened and followed by sitting on the bed. She realized that she was breathing really hard. Her face was flushed red and was sweaty all over. Gripping the blanket on her lap, she tried to remember what she had dreamt.

What. Was. That.

Why did she dream such revealing thoughts? What was happening to her? Was she that desperate to know his feelings that even in her dreams she wanted him to do that? Her blush became more visible on her face when she remembered the kiss. There was no doubt that Ryoma might be the person in her dreams even though it was blurry. She had been dreaming of him for several nights. She knew because she had been thinking of him before she went to sleep.

"Sakuno…"

She almost jumped when the person next to her spoke. Ryoma got up as he rubbed his eyes indicating that had just woke up due to her earlier action.

"What's wrong? Did you have another nightmare?"

_N-nightmare?_ She thought as she looked at him. Somehow, it sounded like Ryoma was joking. If he only knew what it was? _It was a nice dream but an impossible dream. _"I-Ie… it's just a simple dream, that's all." She said instead hoping that he would buy it.

"Hmmmm," He only replied which was followed by a lazy yawn, "Then go back to sleep. It's too early," With that he went back to his lying position, "Stop thinking too much. No wonder that you dream of them."

Gasping in the process, she looked at his lying position. She was facing his back now and probably went back to sleep. The boy had no idea that she was dreaming of him for several nights. She wondered what Ryoma would think if she told him about her dreams. That was definitely embarrassing. Lying back to her previous position, she tried to go back to sleep. Sighing, she knew that Ryoma was right.

She should stop thinking about him… at least before she was about to sleep.

* * *

**Home:**

Christmas and New Year had passed between them. It had been three months after their marriage. Everything went fine despite the rumors and the gossips that she was receiving. She was getting immune of their painful words and she was thankful for that at least.

Their relationship for what she felt like a mere incidental. Ryoma had been kind to her and she knew that she was doing her best to become a good wife to him. She was able to act normal in front of him like he told her but there were still times that she felt insecure about her actions.

Ryoma never touched her like how a couple would do to each other.

Although, he had been holding her hands, kissed her on the cheek and some abrupt hug and embraces, they never did the _home run._ It wasn't like she was upset about it. In fact she felt a little relieved when he wasn't done anything to her yet. But she felt a little worried. Maybe he never found her appealing that he hadn't been touching her that way. Or maybe he was a—no she shook her head to the last thought.

Ryoma was a capable man and a hundred percent man. She had proven it many times.

Last Christmas Eve, his birthday, she gave him a personalized scarf. Their senpai's never left them alone as they set a trap for the both of them. Just like what he did to their wedding reception, he repeated the 'kiss' that they had to witness under the mistletoe. Last New Year's Eve, Ryoma did it in his own way as he kissed her on the cheek. He never kissed her on the lips.

Was she waiting for him to kiss her or was it him who was waiting for her to do it? Were they waiting for each other to do the next move? Somehow, she felt that either of them was waiting for the other to initiate an action.

Being the girl and the wife there was no way she could do the initiative unless Ryoma would tell her that he liked her. She never told Tomoka about her insecurities about their relationship. She didn't want her best friend to worry about her.

Somehow, she would make it out. She thought she could… she hoped.

* * *

**Seigaku:**

First week of January swiftly past and seven days left it would be her birthday. She decided that on that day she herself would prickly ask him about their real score. If it wouldn't turn out she would let him go. It would be painful but she had to accept if he wouldn't feel the same thing about her.

She should do something to keep their relationship strong.

"Sakuno…"

Flinching from the thought, she looked beside her. Ryoma was just staring at her. They were at the tennis club at that moment. She was watching him practice since the class would start a little later.

"What are you thinking?"

She was panicking inside but she managed to show her calm side, "D-do you have plans this weekend?"

Ryoma thought before he answered, "Tennis, why?"

"Oh," She replied. She should've expected that. Almost forgetting that she married a tennis freak, excuse the word as she thought, "I am just wondering that if we can go somewhere else… after you play?"

"It's okay with me," He replied and then looked at her, "But where do you want to go?"

That shocked her. She had the instinct that he had no idea about her birthday. It hurt her but she let it go. She gave him a smile and replied to him, "Y-you can choose if you want."

"Okay." He only said that.

She just gave him a nod. He shrugged after that and then went back to practicing. She sighed as she watched him. She knew that there were things that she just couldn't change about him.

* * *

**The next day:**

"Kya, Ryoma-sama just looked at me!" She heard the girl say talking to her friends. Ryoma was having a match that day and his fangirls were watching him play.

"I think not," The other girl said back to her, "He looked at me, not you!"

"Duh, it was me!" The other replied back.

They began squealing ignoring the other people who were also watching the game, ignoring that she was there, his wife.

"Ryoma-sama!" The first girl shouted, "You are so cool! Marry me!"

She secretly looked at the girl who shouted. Apparently, the girl looked back at her and gave her a mocking look and smiled at her. The girl who was next to her said making sure that she would hear it.

"Idiot, he was already married you know," The girl retorted and also she smirked at her before talking to her friend again, "Or maybe you could be the mistress."

The girl looked to her friend and replied, "Me, the mistress. Haha, what a laugh! I'll make sure that I'll be the wife and NOT the mistress."

They giggled after saying that. She decided to ignore them no matter how painful their words were. She remembered what Ryoma told her.

Ignore their taunting words and believed in him.

As long as it was Ryoma's words were reaching her ears, everything would be fine. Even their words were truly painful she would let it go. Everything should've been fine if Tomoka hadn't butted in and protected her in her place;

"Hey! You are a daydreamer, don't you know that?" She said as she walked closer to the girl, "Ryoma-sama has already a wife so limit your possession. You sound so creepy."

The girl looked at her and retorted back, "And what do you call yourself, a martyr?" She grunted as she continued, "Don't tell me what to do, social climber's best friend."

"What? Why you—"

"T-tomo-chan, stop it, please!" She tried to stop her best friend to not making any more commotion. She feared that they could catch attention from the club which she was trying to avoid, "You are bothering the people around the court."

Tomoka looked at her and retorted, "You are letting these illusionists to bad mouth you?"

"No… Tomo-chan, just let it go." She grabbed her arm and tried to take her away from that place but Tomoka had no intention of letting her face that alone.

"If you cannot defend yourself, I'll do it for you." She said pulling her arms away from her.

"Tomo-chan!"

Tomoka ignored her plead and walked closer to the girl, "You have no right to say that to my best friend. They love each other that's why they decided to marry."

"Really?" The girl mocked, "Why soon? Don't you think that it's too early for them to marry? They are both still studying and Ryoma-sama has future plans for his tennis career," She pointed at her to her shock, "But the girl here ruined everything."

"Everything is suspicious;" The other girl said and looked at her, "What do you say about this, _Ryuzaki-chan?_"

"I…" She looked down as she gripped her hands tight. Everything was getting awkward now. How was she going to answer that? She couldn't tell them that Ryoma married her because of the obligation. It would turn things worst if that was revealed. Ryoma had been saving that for her so she would save it for him too.

"You don't have the right to discriminate her!" Tomoka protected her.

"Shut up! I am not talking to you!" The girl retorted.

"Talk to me then, you moron!"

The girls and her best friend started making a commotion, much to her worries. They started catching attention especially when she looked back at the court. The regulars were slowly noticing the little fight outside. Even Ryoma was staring at them now. Before they could walk to their location, she interrupted them;

"Stop it! All of you!" She shouted the best she could. Even though it wasn't that loud, she knew that the regulars could hear her. The girls were looking at her now. She looked down as she said her thoughts.

"I don't care what you think of me, or the relationship that I have with Ryoma-kun," She said trying to compose herself, "We understand each other and that is all that matters to me."

The girls remained quiet partly shocked that they never expected that she would speak her mind.

"S-so…" She closed her eyes after that, "Y-you have no right to judge me like that!"

"…"

"…"

"Heh," The girl said and then looked away, "Don't think that this is over. Think again, you dream all you want. Everything will end you know," With that she started to leave the place, "Come on girls, the wind is already contaminated. I hope that Ryoma-sama won't catch it."

They watched the girls leave the court. As long as they completely left the place, a round of applause startled Sakuno and Tomoka. Both of them looked at the court and saw them whistling and clapping at the small scene.

"Way to go, Sa-chan!" Eiji said which he followed by whistling, "That's a wonderful scene you got there!"

"Thank you for saving Echizen here!" Momo said extending an arm to his kouhai's shoulder.

"Saa… Echizen should reward his wife a passionate kiss." Fuji teased them a little, earning different blushes from them.

Oishi was worried a little but he still decided to say his words, "W-well they can kiss… m-maybe when we are not around, don't you think so guys?

They looked at their mother hen and thought hard before saying in unison;

"NAH!"

Sakuno blushed and found the ground interesting to watch. Tomoka was also teasing her to no end. It was true that it was her first time speaking her thoughts like that. She could hear Ryoma shouting 'Urusai' and 'Senpai-tachi no baka' to them. She knew that the tennis prodigy was trying to free himself from their teases.

"Everybody, 50 laps around the court, now!" Tezuka suddenly shouted killing all the joy they felt.

Sakuno was saved after the tons of teases they were giving the two of them. She could thank Tezuka a hundred times because of that. The regulars started to run laps while some were secretly grunting. If Tezuka would hear that, they would probably run additional laps. She was looking down all the time that she didn't know what Ryoma's reaction was.

She hadn't given him a glance after the incident happened. She didn't know but she was embarrassed of it. Still looking at the ground, she only listened at their feet running around the court.

* * *

**The Next day:**

If yesterday went good so far, today was another story. The girls who couldn't accept their marriage were still doing something to embarrass or to verbally hurt her. Well, she was used to it and she knew that she could take their words in a deafening manner.

She had to thank Ryoma for teaching her how to accept these facts. She was able to act tough and pretended that she didn't hear anything from them. There were times that she would be expecting that they would corner her to a wall and forced her to confess. And what she wouldn't expect that it would too soon to happen.

* * *

**Two days later:**

It had been five days since the week started. In two days, it would be her birthday. Ryoma was still oblivious of the typical bullies that she had been experiencing. The bullies had the gut to do those things to her because they knew that she would never speak up to him.

Besides, those were the things that she could endure and she didn't want to trouble her husband to her own problems. She tried everything to become a better wife to him. She could see how happy her husband was when he ate her cooking.

Ryoma loved Japanese food and she could see the sparkle in his eyes when he ate it. She also knew how much he cared about karupin. She had been seeing it especially when he played with his Himalayan cat with the catnip. It was such an opportunity to have witnessed those things to him.

* * *

**Night:**

She was doing her English homework that night. She needed to pass it tomorrow but she was having a hard time with the subject since it was her weakness. Thinking on how to solve the problem, she wasn't aware about the figure peeking behind her;

"Do you need help?"

…Which made her jump from her seat.

"R-ryoma-kun!" She immediately covered her homework from him and weirdly smiled, "I-Ie, I—I'm fine with it."

"Hmmm," He only responded. That was the time she realized that he was just finished taking his bath. He looked good on his pajamas… and he smelled good as well. She looked away when she thought of that. She couldn't believe what she was thinking.

Was she desperate?

She was blushing really hard.

"What's wrong?"

She blinked her eyes for several times trying to make an alibi, "I—I'm just thinking of what to answer to my English."

That was the wrong answer she gave him. Letting her guard down like that, he boy suddenly grabbed the notebook from her and started reading it;

"You need to revise this."

"Ah!" She started to panic as she stood up trying to get the book from him, "Ryoma-kun… give—give that back!" She tried reaching for it but Ryoma was just distancing it from her, raising it above them;

"I'll help you," She saw him smirk as she thought that he was just making fun of her, "All you have to do is ask."

"N-no, thank you," She said giving him the new countenance as she walked a few steps forward, reaching him in the process, "G-give it back!"

"Yadda!" He replied.

Sakuno didn't want to give up as she jumped to reach the notebook. She did but she lost her balance when she finally grabbed it. Thinking that she would touch the ground, she immediately closed her eyes but only to open them again when she felt a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled their bodies the fall the other way around causing her notebook to jump out from her grip.

…Which was on the bed.

She blinked her eyes twice when she realized their position. Ryoma was lying on the bed with her on top of him. Her eyes widened as blush appeared on her face. She held her breath as she didn't know what to say.

In an instant, their position was shifted. She didn't notice but Ryoma reversed their position. Ryoma was on top of her now staring down at her. If her face was really red before, she could guarantee that it was redder now. Her heart was panicking too.

"Sakuno…"

She gasped when she heard him say her name. The boy had placed a hand to her cheek making her hold her breath. She instantly panicked when she saw him leaning closer to her face.

Was he going to kiss her now?

She didn't know what to do. Her heart was beating really fast now and she knew that he was hearing it. Not knowing of what to do, she shut her eyes real tight and waited for him.

It was really silent except for the beat of her heart that she could hear herself.

She waited for him.

…But.

Nothing came.

She wondered about that. She was about to open her eyes when she heard the words that she wanted to hear the last at that _very_ moment.

"I'm sorry…"

Gasping, she opened her eyes the moment she heard him. Ryoma was already properly seating as she followed him with her eyes;

"If you don't want my help, I won't force you then," With that, he walked to his own side of the bed and lied there, not even looking at her, "I'll go to sleep then."

Her mind was pretty shocked at the turn of events. Ryoma didn't kiss her. What was that mean? Why did he apologize to her? Didn't he like to do that? She looked down as she sat up. She was hurt and somehow offended. Staring at the notebook on the floor, she slowly looked at Ryoma's back and thought;

_Just… who am I to you, Ryoma-kun? Why aren't you doing something to make our relationship work? I… I am trying my best here but I don't see you. Don't you have feelings for me… even just a little? _With the last thought, she wanted to cry but she just held it back. She didn't want him to know how embarrassed and disappointed she was at that moment.

* * *

**The Next Day:**

Sakuno decided to forget what had happened last night. Miraculously, she was able to do it. She only realized that maybe Ryoma was just having insecurities as well.

Just like her.

It was too early to give up. She hadn't shown everything yet. Tomorrow would be her birthday and she would express all of her feelings to him. She loved Ryoma a lot and she would do everything to make the marriage thing effective for the both of them.

Ryoma accepted her for who she was. With the way he treated her after these months, she wanted to know his feelings for her. If it was something good then, she would do everything for him to love her. And would only think of that… not the bad one… not at all.

* * *

**Lunch break:**

She was on her way to the club to give Ryoma his bento that day. The boy didn't know that she was coming in the club because they decided that they should always meet on the rooftop. She thought of seeing him in the club and walked together at their diner place.

When she was near the club, she could hear voices talking inside the club room. She could recognize their voices from outside the room.

'You did try last night?'

_Fuji-senpai?_ She blinked when she heard the tensai's voice.

'Wow, Echizen, you are getting there'

'Don't startle her, you—'

'Cut that out Oishi. Sa-chan is Ochibi's wife; he could do anything to her.'

_M-momo-chan-senpai, Oishi-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai?_ She thought as she heard their voices. What shocked her was when they were talking about their last event that happened last night. She was blushing to the fullest. _W-why is Ryoma-kun telling them this?_

'Urusai, senpai-tachi,' She could hear Ryoma speaking at the other side of the door, 'Cut the crap already.'

'It's not a crap, Echizen,' Momo said next, 'You like her and it's okay to do these things.'

'Momo-chii's right, nya!' Eiji said as she heard a slap sound inside the room, 'You like her and do it fast to make your own bundles of joy.'

_W-what are they talking? W-why are they—_

'No!'

_E-eh?! _

'What do you mean by 'no', Echizen?' Fuji asked the boy as she heard him.

'I don't force myself to something that she doesn't like.'

'What are you saying?' Momo asked him next, 'It's only natural for you guys to do it.'

'I don't think she's ready yet.'

'And when do you think she's ready? When she gets old?' Eiji joked a little.

_W-why are they talking these things?_

'I'm not doing it.'

'Why? You like her. You like each other. Make the marriage work.'

'Stop it, I don't like her, okay!'

Her eyes widened when she heard Ryoma said that. She covered her mouth to avoid making noises.

'Do you know what you are saying?' Fuji said this time.

'Aa.'

She heard enough. Walking a few step backwards, she tried not to make a sound. And when she was far from the club, she immediately ran fast. She couldn't hold her tears anymore as they finally fell on her face.

Ryoma didn't like her.

Then, why did he marry her? Why did he make her hopes up? Why was he so kind to her? Why was he doing things that she thought he would like her even just a little? Her instinct about last night was awfully true.

He didn't want anything to do with her. That was why he held back from the kiss that he was about to give her. He was trying hard as he thought. She felt stupid to hope something.

She was awfully stupid.

And she wanted to end it… before it hurt more.

* * *

**Later on:**

Everything was settled from that time. She had everything prepared. Her things were inside the bag and she was just waiting for him to return. She knew that he was going to return as early as possible that day. She didn't meet him at lunch nor did she attend the rest of the class. Instead, she ran on her way home when she heard what Ryoma said in the club room.

She just left a note in his locker and waited for him to return.

And she didn't wait long. She was sitting on their bed and wasn't even looking up when he arrived. He slammed the door making her flinch in the process.

"Sakuno…"

That was the time that she looked at him. He was catching for air. It looked like he ran all the way from the school carrying his duffel bag. Her eyes went to his other hand. The note that she left in his locker was gripping hard from his hand.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked as she saw him gripping his hand where the note was residing. She was able to look at his eyes. They were shocked and he never intended to hide it from her. Still speechless, she waited for him to say the next words that she wished for him to give even though it was really painful for her;

"Why are you wishing for an annulment?"

* * *

**Done! How was it? After standing up for herself and now… okay… what will happen next? Complicated, right? Find that out in the next chapter…**

**Review please! Need to know your thoughts. Share them to me, please don't keep it to yourself. Thank you very much…**

**Next Chapter: Secret Vows **


	4. Secret Vows

**Hi! I am back with the next chapter. I am very very sorry for the late reply… I am surprised that some of you are really waiting for the next chapter. I owe everything a lot to you. Thank you for those who reviewed from chapters one to three. I would like to say that this is the second to the last chapter. Enjoy the fourth chapter. I hope to see you once again… Domo… ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.**

* * *

**yana19 – tee hee hee… yeah, that dream is really so good to be true… face it… a person who dreams about something like that is a pervert, right Sakuno? ;p tee hee hee…**

**You are right about her. Sakuno is facing the problem as long as Ryoma's with her since the boy hasn't done anything to make their relationship weak or something. His feelings remain a mystery to her alright.**

**They are waiting for each other… who will do the move first? And they did think too much about it. What will they do after? Hmmm. Ryoma hasn't said anything until now… tee hee hee…**

**And she thought that their relationship was okay… but because of that conversation, the one that Sakuno's holding on crumble in less than a second. What will Ryoma do now? He's not that so easy to read…**

**Yeah, it's kind of depressing alright, and the outcome, well… this is the outcome. Next chapter is up now. Find that out… about Ryoma's decision about the annulment. Thank you very much… I hope you like it… ^_^**

**ma-chan – thank you very much for reviewing. Well, just like you, I also love drama and most of my fics are actually drama… tee hee hee… Well, about your thoughts I also know how you feel, you will know the outcome when you read this next chapter… Thank you once again… ^_^**

**johanna – tee hee hee… this is the next chapter… as promised… thank you very much… ^_^**

**Guest (9/9/13) – thank you very much… this is the next chapter… sorry for the long wait… I hope you like this… ^_^**

**heartluv – tee hee hee… I guess that was really unexpected. Well, you will know the continuation of the story right about now… and sorry for the long wait and thank you very much… ^_^**

**Guest (9/9/13) – I am sorry that it took long for me to update this… but I am back with the new chapter… thank you very much… and thank you for loving the story… ^_^**

**Guest (9/9/13) – Hi… thank you very much… Yeah, this is going to have five chapters only… ^_^**

**Mayu-chan – Hi… thank you very much… tee hee hee… sorry can't help with the cliffhangers… Well, this is the next chapter… thank you once again… ^_^**

**sandra – thank you very much for reading this story… I hope it's easy for me to update this really fast but my idea is blocking me… tee hee hee… but I like your reaction, you made me happy… thank you very much… This is the next chapter… I hope it's worth the wait… ^_^**

**oh and thank you for loving the story… I am so happy to know that from you… Well, your wait is over… ^_^**

**larsha – hi… thank you very much… sorry that it took so long for me to update but it's here now… I hope you like it… Thank you once again… ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Secret Vows**

**Chapter Summary: She never expected everything at all… and it all started from the annulment thing.**

* * *

"_What is the meaning of this?" He asked as she saw him gripping his hand where the note was residing. She was able to look at his eyes. They were shocked and he never intended to hide it to her. Still speechless, she waited for him to say the next words that she wished for him to give even though it was really painful for her;_

"_Why are you wishing for an annulment?"_

* * *

She didn't reply to him right away. She had to do it. Gripping her hands tight, she had to say it to him;

"It's better this way," She said staring straight to his eyes, "W-we both know that… this relationship will never work out."

"How can you say that?" He said walking a bit closer to her, "What happened? Are my fan girls threatening you again?"

"No, it's not about them," She said looking down this time, "It's about me… I just cannot keep up with you anymore."

"What?!"

"Let's separate."

"…"

"…"

"Yadda!"

She looked up at him, "B-but Ryoma-kun."

"No!"

Her eyes widened when he lifted her note and ripped it in front of her, dropping them on the floor afterwards.

"We will not annul."

She stood up and she defended herself. She wanted to end her hardships as well as for him, "W-what's stopping you? Y-you don't have the obligation as we both know it. W-we know that this was all just an accident because of our carelessness," Looking away, she said all the things that could hurt her in the process, "I—I am only keeping you from the things that you really like. I stole your freedom, I kept you beside me which you didn't prefer to stay, and everything was all a mistake!"

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"I know!" She immediately looked straight to his eyes as her tears were warning to fall, "You rejected me!"

Ryoma flinched when she said that. He didn't say anything as if he was waiting for her next words which she did;

"A-and I heard you today… in the club," Looking down once again, closing her eyes in the process. She didn't know Ryoma's reaction after she said that, "p-please… let's stop all these pretenses and part ways already… b-before I hurt myself more."

Her tears started to fall so she immediately wiped them with her hands. Ryoma hadn't said anything as she continued looking down. She couldn't breathe in that room because of the tense that was filled in that area.

She needed to get away.

Grabbing her bag near her, she slowly walked towards the door not looking at his eyes, "I—I am sorry."

She walked to his sideways but when she was beside him, he grabbed her right forearm with his right hand making her stop from walking away.

"R-Ryoma-kun," She looked at him only to find him unreadable at that very moment, "L-let go."

"You will not leave." He said emphasizing each word.

Still shocked at his sudden action, she was able to say her words, trying to free herself from him, "S-stop it… please… please no more," She begged letting go of her bag to reach for her other arm, "C-can't you see I am bringing your freedom back? D-don't force yourself on me anymore!"

After saying that, Ryoma surprised her by pushing her on the wall near her and pinned her there. Her wrists were placed to her sides with his hands firmly holding them. She was able to look at him. His expression was still unreadable for her, making her speechless at his actions.

"Who said that I forced myself to you?" He said with the same tone of voice, "You don't know anything."

What really surprised her the most was his next move. Ryoma suddenly crossed the distance between them and kissed her fully on the lips making her gasp in the process. Her eyes widened as she couldn't react to the turn of events. He began kissing her passionately… liked he had never kissed her before. Well, he never did. It was the first the first time that they kissed since their wedding. It was also her first kiss. Her heart was beating really fast as he started giving her butterfly kisses at the same spot. She closed her eyes tight when Ryoma let go of her wrists and placed his on her cheek as he deepened the kiss.

She didn't know how to respond.

"Who said that I rejected you?" He said when he broke the kiss for air. He leaned his forehead to hers still holding her cheek, "Where did you get that idea?"

Her eyes were still wide as she couldn't believe what was happening. Ryoma just kissed her a while ago and it wasn't just a normal kiss. It was a passionate one. She was confused at that moment that she didn't know what to say.

He leaned away and stared at her. This time, she could see him. His eyes were soft as they were staring back at her.

"Don't leave okay."

Upon hearing that, she blinked her eyes twice as she remembered what really happened, "B-but I—I don't get anything. W-why are you doing this? W-why are you sacrificing yourself to me? W-why are taking all the responsibilities of something that we didn't do in the first place?"

"Don't you get it?" She knew that he was getting irritated of her denseness.

"W-what is it that I don't get?" She said trying to remain calm but she couldn't, "No… I don't get everything at all," Closing her eyes in the process, she almost shouted her next words, "This marriage is complicated!"

She felt that her heart skip a beat when he suddenly grabbed her to her shoulder making her to stand firm and look at him in the eyes;

"I set everything up!" He said a little loud.

Her eyes widened for the umpteenth time. What was he saying all of the sudden? What did he set up? She couldn't register what he was saying. As if he read her mind, he continued;

"…The meeting, the drink and the bed… everything!" He said still looking stoic but a hint of feeling and emotion was there, "I had everyone as my accomplice to have you with me."

She didn't know what to say. Ryoma set everything up just to have her?

"I asked Ryuzaki-sensei to set you up with me that night. I put sleeping pills into your drinking glass and work with my plans," Ryoma continued explaining. His eyes softened as she stared at them, "Because I want you to end up marrying me."

Things were getting out of her hands now. She couldn't believe that Ryoma did all those things to her. But for what reason? She was still confused, "B-but why? Why did you set me up? I—I heard you today. Y-you didn't even like me, s-so why did you want to marry me?"

"I don't like you…" He said making her flinch in the process. Her tears fell that time as she couldn't hold them any longer. She didn't know what to say but she was hurting inside. She hadn't realized it was more painful to hear those words straight to her face;

"…I _love_ you."

She blinked her eyes twice despite the tears that were falling down her face. Did she hear him right? Ryoma just didn't like her but he loved her. It was not the thing she expected at all. She wished for a little but he gave her a lot? She couldn't retaliate everything.

"Why would I want to marry you if I don't love you," He said wiping her tears with his hands, "I wouldn't go with those things if I don't."

"But… y-you hadn't done anything…" She was able to say her thoughts to him, "I—I never realized that… you are."

"I don't want you to rush things with me," He said keeping the same tone but his expression was starting to betray him as she looked at his face, "The start of the marriage was awkward for you."

"O-of course it was," She said grabbing his hands in the process, "Y-you didn't say anything to me. I—I thought that you just forced yourself to me. W-what do you expect? K-keeping you with me against your will was pretty hard for me."

"Did you notice any sign that I didn't like your company even a bit?" He asked her and she immediately replied;

"Y-you held back that last time…" She looked down as she remembered that night where he didn't continue to kiss her.

"I thought that you weren't ready," He answered after a few series of silence, "I thought that you were doubting about it that time."

"I—I was nervous," Closing her eyes in the process, her blush was betraying her as well, "B-but I never doubted you, just your feelings because I wasn't sure about them. But I trusted you and I always will."

"Sakuno…"

"I thought… that having the annulment was the only way because I thought that you didn't feel anything for me… even just a little. I wished that you feel something for me just a little Ryoma-kun… and I never realized that," She gripped her hands in the process, her eyes were still closed so she never saw his reactions, "I thought that letting you go would only make you feel happy and free from the obligation that it wasn't yours in the first place… even though it would hurt me… because I… I love you a lot…" She almost whispered her last five words and she said it very fast. She didn't know if Ryoma heard her at all.

Ryoma suddenly hugged her tight and gave him a slight gasp. The action was telling her that he heard her after all. She blushed during the hug;

"Why are we holding ourselves back in the first place anyway?" He asked as he placed his head at the crook of her neck, "It was totally absurd."

Her eyes softened as she let him, "It's your fault. M-making decisions by yourself… w-without my consent."

"Che," He grunted as he tightly hugged her, "Does that mean I restrained myself at the first three months of our marriage for nothing?"

"It was your doing after all," She said pouting in the process as she leaned her head to his shoulder, "M-Marrying me by setting me up."

She felt his hand brushing her head, "So knowing my little secret… do you still want an annulment?"

When she heard him ask her that, she thought for a while before she replied, "Do you still want me to?"

Ryoma distanced himself a little to her and smirked, "Hell no. I sacrificed everything even the embarrassing ones."

Her tears were dried up but she was still blushing, wondering at his words, "W-what do you mean by that?"

He stared at her before he grabbed her plait, "I prefer not to tell you."

"W-what?" She said still wondering about his words. She had been wondering about it. How did he convince everyone to work together to have their marriage like that, especially her grandmother? She couldn't believe that her grandmother would cooperate with the others.

She was the only one who didn't know their plans.

They were incredible… and unbelievable.

"Ne…"

Cutting from her reverie, she looked at him. Ryoma was giving her a different look this time and somehow, she was nervous about it.

"I want to catch up with the months that we wasted," He said grabbing her plaits once again, "Let's work on it." With that, he started kissing her neck, much to her surprise.

She let out a gasp when he did that. It was a new feeling for her for he hadn't done that to her before. She knew what he wanted and he was not hesitating to do it that very moment. Panicking, she pushed her husband making him frown in the process, "R-Ryoma-kun… m-matte."

"What?!"

She bit her lower lip as looked down, "T-take a bath first," She ordered blushing in the process, "Y-you are sweating from playing tennis."

"I've been hugging you for a long time today and you just wanted me to take a bath?" He twitched an eyebrow when he asked that.

"E-even so…" She said still trying to push him to the bathroom, "I still want you to take a bath."

He didn't reply as she waited for him. But after a few seconds he finally replied, "Okay," She looked at him only to see him smirking as he continued speaking, "Join me."

His words surprised her. She didn't have the time to protest when he pulled her inside the bathroom and locked them together inside. She was still on her school uniform as she didn't have the time to change while waiting for him today. Ryoma brought her under the shower but before he turned it on, he reached for her ribbon and untied it.

"R-Ryoma-kun…" She called his name as she grabbed his hands.

Ryoma looked at her, "Don't worry we will just take a bath for now. We will do it later in our bed."

Her blush intensified when he said that. Ryoma said it like it was really easy to say those things to her. He shoved her hands from holding his and continued removing her clothes. Her heart was beating really fast when he was unbuttoning her shirt. He was doing it in a slow manner and that was making her more panicky than ever.

"Relax besides;" He smoothly said looking at her in the eye before he leaned closer and whispered to her ear, "This is not the first time that I am going to see you naked."

This time she held her breath. Then she remembered that night where they were 'discovered' by them. They were naked at that time but as they both confirmed it, nothing happened between them.

…At least not yet.

She couldn't look at his eyes when he successfully removed her clothes from her upper extremities. Then, she waited for his next move.

"I feel silly about this."

Hearing his words, she took the courage to look at him and saw him brushing his own hair, surprisingly avoiding eye contact to her.

"Now that you are in front of me, I don't know how to touch you."

Despite the nervousness, she was able to sweat drop. The tennis prodigy was tensed too? Well, that was priceless for her. She wanted to laugh but that would only offend him. Or worst, he would unexpectedly punish her if she did that. She panicked once again when his hands aimed for the zipper of her skirt.

"But I don't mind learning the experience."

"W-what—" She was cut when he kissed her fully on the lips. He was kissing her once again. Her blush was awfully present at that time and it became red even more when he pressed his body next to her. Recovering from the shock, she responded to his kiss for the first time. She knew that he was shocked when she did that but he continued kissing her afterwards.

Ryoma turned the faucet on making them soaking wet in the process. She let Ryoma do the chores as he volunteered himself. It was embarrassing for Ryoma had been touching her all the time.

…Which was a new feeling for her.

* * *

**Later on:**

They did take a bath just like what he told her. Clad in bath robes, they both exited the bathroom. They never took a bath together like they had a while ago. Now, she felt that she was really his wife.

Ryoma was aggressive and she just learned it today.

If he was that already aggressive, what more when they…

She mentally shook her head to stop herself from thinking more. Her blush was pretty visible to her face and she knew that her husband was seeing her expression at that moment. Before he could pull her to the bed, she immediately went to the dressing table and began brushing her long hair. She wanted to dry it as much as possible.

Ryoma sat on the bed as he waited for her but after five minutes; she saw him stand up from the reflection and walked towards her. She secretly panicked when he stood behind her. His hands were slowly yet gently went to her hair.

"Your hair is really long."

The way he caressed her hair felt good and had relaxing feelings for her but his words were not, "D-don't start with it."

Ryoma didn't reply to her words. He continued doing his little ministrations to her hair then, she felt his hands touching her nape and then her bare skin of her neck. He was caressing her there.

"I cannot wait any longer Sakuno," He whispered to her ear making her blush ten folds, "There's no use holding back anymore."

"Ryoma-kun," She didn't know what to say. She was still nervous but deep inside, she also wanted it. He had the right to her and their marriage was getting real for them now. There were no insecurities, no doubts, no holding backs and no restraining to oneself. When Ryoma carried her to the bed, she didn't resist not one bit. He carefully placed her on the bed making her hair spread around the sheet, "R-Ryoma-kun… my hair."

"I know, it's long." He smirked as placed it above them. Her head wasn't lying on the pillow yet, "And seriously, you can call me by my name without honorifics you know, you're my wife, remember?"

"Mou…" She pouted. Her elbow was still supporting her upper body. She didn't know but she was too shy to call him without honorifics yet but she would work for it, she would just surprise him one day. She held her breath when Ryoma placed himself on top of her. He slipped her robe exposing her thigh and replaced with his hand before he began caressing it, "W-wait—" She held his hand as she bent her upper body a little, "Ryoma-kun."

"Lie down properly, Sakuno," He ordered her. The boy's eyes were staring intensely to her eyes. She stared back at him. His stare was sort of hypnotizing that she slowly lied her head down on the pillow. Ryoma followed suit and brushed her hair on the head, "I'll be gentle to you, I promise." With that, he crossed the distance and gently kissing her once again.

The kiss was familiar for her somehow. Ryoma was chastely kissing her. The first time he kissed her today was passionate but now it was gentle. She closed her eyes as she savored the kiss and responded to it.

"Now I don't have to sneak up at night and secretly kiss and hug you without you waking up in the process," He whispered after the kiss and currently touching her lips, "It was pretty hard keeping that up from you."

"W-what?" She snapped her eyes open when she heard that from him, "Y-you mean… I… I wasn't imagining those things?"

She saw him smirk and replied, "Perhaps that you were aware that I was doing those things to you, huh?"

Gasping in the process, she immediately covered her mouth and blushed for eternity, "I—it wasn't a dream after all?"

"You were dreaming of me?"

She covered her whole face due to embarrassment, "M-mou… Ryoma-kun. Stop it, y-you're embarrassing me already."

She felt him grab her hands and placed them above her head. He gave her butterfly kisses on the face. Trying to concentrate, she remembered something, "W-when did you… k-kiss me for the first time?"

Ryoma stopped kissing her and looked at her eyes. He gave her another smirk as he replied, "That night when I put you to sleep, undressed you and then I kissed you. Yeah, I first kissed you that time though I never dared to touch you since you were on a disadvantage."

Her eyes widened. So he wasn't kidding when he said that it wasn't his first time seeing her body. Ryoma had been kissing her when he thought that she was in deep sleep and she wasn't aware of that. Her first kiss had been stolen without even noticing it.

To top of it all, the person who would do all of these things was the person that she would expect to do it last. Who would've thought that the romantically-challenged boy that she admired for so long would set her up for a marriage and was now her husband?

It was all too good to be true.

"Y-you were taking advantage of me," She pouted as blush was still present, "I—I can't believe you."

"Mada mada dane, Sakuno," He said as he held her hands with his hand while his other went to her robe and began untying it. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing, "Stop interrupting and be mine already."

Since she was only wearing the robe, it was easy for him to remove it. She was fully exposed to him making her lose her energy to move. Well, she didn't argue with him anymore despite that he was the one who interrupted their last kiss, she let it go. The thing that never happened in the first place happened that night. Ryoma had her all the way and made love all night.

Everything was clear for the both of them. Sakuno was happy with the outcome and she knew that Ryoma would be happy in her company.

* * *

**Morning:**

She woke up that morning with Ryoma's way of kissing. She remembered how he kissed her in her 'dreams' and he was doing it now.

"Morning."

Sakuno blushed at the sight of her husband, "G-good morning Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma kissed her on the lips before he sat up and grabbed something on the side table. Sakuno also sat up and wondered what he was doing. When he faced her, he had something in his hand. Sakuno looked at it and was a bit shocked.

It was a blue rectangular velvet box.

"Happy Birthday Sakuno." He said opening the box in front of her. It was a silver necklace with her name on it.

Sakuno was really shocked and covered her mouth with her hands, "Y-you remembered…?"

Ryoma frowned when she said that, "Of course I remember. He took the necklace from the box and put it to her neck.

She stared at the necklace and smiled at it, "Y-you know, I was about to ask you what you really feel for me today but you took the initiative somehow," She was still looking at the necklace so she didn't know his reaction. She then looked at him and smiled as well, "Arigatou, Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma nodded and then went back lying on the bed, "It's still early, let's go back to sleep."

"W-what?" She said looking at him, "Ryoma-kun, y-you have practice remember?"

"It's okay." He said closing his eyes in the process.

Sakuno looked at him as he began sleeping again. She thought something and she wanted to tell him, "Ne, Ryoma-kun."

"Hmmm."

"No more secrets between us, okay."

Ryoma opened his eyes and looked at her frowning, "What do you mean?"

Sakuno leaned a little to him, "Promise me, that you will never do things that beyond my expectations. Promise me that you will never keep it to yourself."

"Why?"

"B-because I have to know."

"…"

"…"

"They're never remained secrets if I tell you. That's why they call it secrets in the first place."

"Mou, Ryoma-kun," She pouted as she puffed her cheek, "Just promise me."

"Hai, hai, and…" He answered as he looked at her. What she wasn't prepared was when Ryoma raised a hand and grabbed her top and casually squeezed it, "If you don't stop exposing yourself like that to me, I wouldn't be able to stop myself."

Sakuno was shocked when he did that. She didn't realize that her upper extremity was exposed to him. Blush immediately appeared on her face before she screamed and quickly covered her body, "R-Ryoma-kun no baka. Y-you pervert!"

Ryoma laughed that she rarely heard from him, "It wasn't me who showed herself in the first place."

She stuck her tongue out to him. She was pretty sure that they returned back to normal. Ryoma was teasing her once again. And she was glad about that.

* * *

**Seigaku:**

After the revelations Ryoma confessed to her, she confronted everyone who was involved in the set up. She scolded them but she wasn't angry. She even scolded her grandmother and Tomoka who helped with the Tennis prodigy's plans.

The rest just scratched their heads and sweat dropped while the others just looked at her. Ryoma was just sitting on a bench and smirking to himself. She also confronted the talk that she heard about the other day. Now she understood that talk, no wonder that Ryoma had been telling them about the progress of their marriage. She also made Ryoma promise not to tell them anymore for they shouldn't worry about them.

They succeeded about bringing them together anyway.

After the little scolding words from her, teases and praises were being given to the both of them. She couldn't help but blush after that.

They didn't miss the opportunity of celebrating her birthday that day. She was really shocked with the surprised party they had for her. She thanked everyone for it.

…For being supportive all the time.

The rumors about them that day seemed to subside a little when they saw them together walking hand in hand. She even told someone that she loved him with all her heart and so he did to her. She just hoped that they would stop bugging her and let the marriage with him come in peace.

Now she had nothing to wish for. She had Ryoma with her, the person that she loved and would love for the rest of her life.

* * *

**Done! How was this chapter? Everything was revealed here tee hee hee. It seemed like this was the ending but it isn't. There's one chapter left. And that's all of it. **

**And thank you very much for waiting for this chapter to be updated. I hope this worth the wait… I'll try to update as possible as I can. I'll be working on my Cherry Valentines next after this. Thank you very much… once again… ^_^**

**Tell me your thoughts please… Let me hear them… one word is enough for me. Thank you… ^_^**

**Next chapter: Afterthought  
**


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